New York Jets owner Woody Johnson spoke out about what he wants despite his team’s nightmarish 0–7 start this season when he talked with reporters on Tuesday ahead of the NFL’s annual fall owners meetings.
“Well, the record speaks for itself, but I don’t go to any game thinking I’m going to lose,” Johnson told reporters. “I see what you see. But I see more hope than you do. You can’t win with hope. It helps.”
Johnson overhauled the team in the offseason with a new general manager, head coach, and quarterback. After nothing but losses in the first half of the season thus far, Johnson has decided on who he’s backing: It’s head coach Aaron Glenn and general manager Darren Mougey, but not quarterback Justin Fields.
“The defense is pretty good. If we can just complete a pass, it would look good,” Johnson said. “We’ve got to complete some passes. You’ve got to convince them that you can do something. Otherwise, it’s hard to have a game that you can win.”
Fields has been a major part of the Jets’ last-place passing offense, and Glenn ultimately benched Fields during the Week 7 loss to the Carolina Panthers. Backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor took over and looks poised to start in Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
New York signed Fields, a former No. 11 pick, after the team parted ways with future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers. The Jets only won five games with Rodgers, 41, last season, and New York fired both the head coach and general manager during the regular season.
Now, Rodgers is enjoying a late-career resurgence with the Pittsburgh Steelers (4–2) where he has 1,270 yards passing for 14 touchdowns versus five picks thus far. Fields has only 845 yards passing for four touchdowns and no interceptions this season.
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that he’s got,” Johnson said regarding Fields. “He has the ability, but something is just not jiving. But if you look at any head coach with a quarterback like that, you’re gonna see similar results across the league.”
As for Glenn, Johnson sees promise despite the horrid start. Glenn previously coached on the Detroit Lions staff amid the franchise’s turnaround from cellar dweller to Super Bowl contender.
“I do believe in Aaron,” Johnson said. “I see the way he handles a room. If I were a player, I would respond to him. Because he’s the real deal. No B.S. There’s no second agendas. What you’re hearing is the truth. And a lot of times players don’t get the truth—they get a lot of gobbledygook.”
Johnson also described their daily interactions as quite positive despite the negativity surrounding the organization.
Johnson also supports Glenn’s decision to bench Fields and give Taylor a shot. Taylor, 36, has 59 career starts from his various stops in his 15-year career. He has 12,633 yards passing for 71 touchdowns versus 32 interceptions in 97 career games.
“That’s completely up to the coach,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to be involved at all in any of that. This is what they’re paid to do. This is what they’re experts at doing, and so they’ll make the right decision—with what we’ve got.”
Johnson sees hope for the Jets this season, particularly the defense. Only two of the losses have been by more than one score as the defense has kept the Jets in games.
“The defense, special teams are doing better,” Johnson said.
The Jets’ offense only has a top-10 ranking in total rushing yards and yards per attempt, but the passing game doesn’t provide enough spark to complement the ground game and produce points.
“You can’t run the ball if you can’t pass the ball,” Johnson said. “That’s Football 101.”
Despite the offense’s giant regression, Johnson doesn’t bemoan the franchise letting go of Rodgers, who played two seasons for the team. New York never reached the level desired with Rodgers after acquiring him in a 2023 trade with the Green Bay Packers.
“I never look back,” he said. “You have to look forward in football. When you cut players, they could be a Hall of Famer. You just never know. But Aaron’s playing great now. He’s in a situation that’s working for him.”
That said, things don’t seem to be working for the Jets, and the playoff drought continuing for another year looks inevitable. New York last made the playoffs in 2010, which makes for the longest playoff drought in the league.
“They’ve been at it for a long time, so they know exactly what’s going on,” Johnson said of the fans. “I think they’re the smartest fans in the world. I think they do know what’s going on. They know what they see.”
